Compact business companion

The Samsung X22-Pro Boyar (NP-X22T001) is a modern, silent, and robust 14" notebook for daily office work. It is light, weighing just above two kilogram, and quiet while running. Business user in particular will appreciate the possibility to use an optional X-Dock docking station. Two batteries and recovery disks are included in the shipment and contribute to a business-like impression.

The interface of the Samsung X22-Pro Boyar isn't really extensive. Fast Firewire (i.LINK, IEEE1394) and S-video port (TV-out) are missing. In times of USB sticks and multiple USB devices three USB ports are acceptable at best. However, the X22-Pro comes with a modern ExpressCard slot and a 5in1 card reader (MMC, MS, MS Pro, SD, xD) for reading common flash cards.

Apart from the usual ports for sound and VGA, the Samsung X22-Pro Boyar also offers a modern HDMI port for the output of audio- and video data in HD quality on external flat displays or HD-television systems. Optionally, it is possible to connect the X22-Pro to an "X-dock" docking station, which further enhances the interface equipment.

The 89 1,4 x 1,5 cm² big keys of the X22-Pro Boyar  are tightly attached to  the base unit. Typing feels good. The only annoying thing is that the left CTRL key and the Fn key are reversely located. So, typing mistakes are likely at the beginning. The keyboard is very stable and yields only slightly. Apart from the unusual key layout the tester found nothing to complain about. 

The X22-Pro keyboard has an antibacterial coating. Although this might make sense with refrigerators and washing machines, it is questionable how long the nanometer thin coating of the X22-Pro keyboard can stand mechanical wear and tear of daily typing. Furthermore, considering that germs are everywhere in an office environment, e.g., on door knobs and telephones, the question raises whether such a coating makes actually any sense.

Regarding ergonomics we were pleased that the matte 14.1 inch display, a Samsung LTN141W1-L04, does hardly reflect. Its resolution of 1.280 x 800 pixels in 16:10 format is typical for this notebook class. The average luminance of the 14.1 inch WXGA display was 120,9 cd/m² during mains operation and 121,0 cd/m² during battery operation. So, the measured brightness of the SuperBright display is a little too low for working outdoors.

The luminance is evenly distributed. The relative difference between the brightest part in the center of the screen, where we measured 128,9 cd/m² and the darkest part, the left upper corner, where we measured 111,5 cd/m² was about 13.5 percent during mains operation and 12.5 percent in battery mode, where we measured 128.6 cd/m² respectively 112.5 cd/m². When we tried different bright backgrounds, the display seemed also subjectively rather evenly illuminated. However, this depends on the viewing angle.

Inside the decent case of the Samsung X22-Pro Boyar there is an up-to-date mobile Intel 965GM express chip set (codename Crestline). Intel's Core 2 Duo T7500 (codename Merom) with 2,20GHz clock rate per core ensures good performance. Usual office and multimedia applications are done brilliantly.

The size of the main memory (RAM), two gigabytes, is quite generous for the Microsoft Windows XP Professional operation system. Two fast 1024 DDRII-667 modules are more than sufficient  to avoid heavy swapping (transfer of pages between main memory and an auxiliary store, such as hard disk drive) during the standard office work. Upgrading the X22-Pros main memory to up to four GB can be easily done through a maintenance opening at the bottom of the notebook. However, you'll need to remove at least one of the existing memory modules, because all slots are already in use.

The graphics adapter of the X22-Pro Boyar is an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2400, an entry level DirectX10 video chip. Although the Mobility Radeon HD 2400 has "only" 128 megabyte dedicated video memory, it can obtain further memory from the main memory thanks to HyperMemory. Even high definition videos run smoothly on the X22-Pro due to ATIs Avivo HD video technology

However, the performance of the HD 2400 is not sufficient for modern demanding computer games, even not with reduced resolution and details. World in Conflict for example, is unplayable at a resolution of 1024x768 pixels and medium details. However, the main focus group of the X22-Pro Boyar are business customers, so, top 3D performance is not the most important aspect anyway.

Our X22-Pro uses a 200 gigabyte hard disk by Fujitsu as a central mass storage. Equipped with a fast serial ATA interface, 8 megabyte cache, and running to 5400 revs/min, the Fujitsu MHY2200BH has an average transfer rate of 37.3 megabytes per second measured by HDTune. This performance is average. The  Fujitsu MHY2200BH hard disk is very quiet - it was hardly audible in our test. Performance comparison: The transfer rate of our reference hard disk, a ST910021A disk made by Seagate, with 7200 revs/min was 41,2MB/s, so, it exceeds the transfer rate of the provided hard disk by about  9.5 percent.

The X22-Pro Boyar offers an 8x DVD burner, which can handle all relevant formats, as an additional mass storage. Apart from the common DVD+R and DVD-R media formats the Lite-On DS-8A1P made by PLDS (Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions) also manages the DVD-RAM format, which is particularly important for professional data backups. Although the DS-8A1P obviously handles dual layer discs as well, according to Samsung, it can only burn such at a maximum speed of 2.4x.

The energy consumption of the X22-Pro Boyar is average, compared with other 14,1" office notebooks. We measured a power consumption of 22 watt if all  energy saving functions are activated and with the lowest display brightness possible. Under load the X22-Pro uses maximal 59 watt.

The X22-Pro user can use two batteries during travels without power plug. A slim four cell (38,48Wh) and a big eight cell battery (76,96Wh) which stands slightly over the rear end, are included with the X22-Pro. With these two batteries the notebook can easily be used half a working day without power plug. The downside is that both batteries together increase the weight of the luggage by noticeable 648 gram.

Worth mentioning: Both batteries have a charge status display, which can comfortably be read, even if they are inside the laptop. The charge level can thus be quickly checked by pressing a button, even if the notebook is turned off - excellent! Furthermore, the X22-Pro shines with very short charge times of about two hours per battery, no matter whether the notebook is turned on or not.

The Samsung X22-Pro Boyar is a good choice for people who want to invest about 1400 Euro into a light, modern and high quality business notebook for their daily office work. Samsung presents with the X22-Pro a generally solid 14" office all rounder.

The strengths of the Samsung X22-Pro Boyar are its weight of little over two kilogram, the very robust magnesium frame and the pleasant feel of its surface and input devices. The X22-Pro scores with its extensive accessories as well, thanks to recovery CDs and high performance battery, which are included free of charge.

Additionally, the Samsung X22-Pro Boyar impresses with its noise level and temperature. Nothing prevents this business notebook from a permanent silent and cool office usage. The possibility to use an optional X-Dock docking station will be appreciated by business users, who travel often and can't stand managing the usual wire entanglement.

Small concessions have to be made regarding battery lifetime, display brightness and security. The battery life won't last for an entire day, despite the power of two batteries. Additionally, the base brightness of about 121cd/m² isn't sufficient for outdoor use, despite the dim display. Security features, which are usually included in business class notebooks, like finger print scanner and/or TPM security chip are missing as well.